Coming in to his 112th career final match, Roger Federer hadn't won a title for 43 weeks (after his last title win @ Cincinnati 2012). This was his 2nd longest title-less streak after winning his first title at Milan in February, 2001. (Jointly tied with the 43 weeks title-less streak that he had from Qatar in January, 2011 to Basel in November, 2011 & with the longest being the Milan, February 2001 to Sydney, January, 2002 that lasted 49 weeks).

It took 2 hours & 2 minutes for Roger Federer to end this title drought as he defeated a resurgent Mikhail Youzhhny 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to claim his 1st title of 2013, his 77th overall career title (that equals him with John McEnroe's 77 titles, only Ivan Lendl with 94 & Jimmy Connors with 109 titles are ahead of Roger Federer in the number of titles won).This was Roger Federer's 6th title win at Halle & his first after 2008.

Picture of Roger Federer with his first trophy win of 2013

1st set

Roger Federer had 4 break points in the very first game but couldn't convert any, become of some untimely unforced errors. The 30 year old Russian had one break point on Federer's service in the 4th game but Federer saved it & made it 2-all. The next 6 games went on service, but, how ever, Federer's game didn't have the same flow as he kept on making unforced errors on both forehand & backhand side. How ever, Federer still managed to keep in pace with the Russian.

In the 11th game, Federer once again had a break point on Youzhny's service, but once again, missed it with a forehand error. The Russian held on to make it 6-5.

The very next game, Youzhny had a break point (set point), how ever, Federer saved it to take the set to the tie-breaker.

The tie-breaker had some dramatic moments & on the very first point, Youzhny had a lucky net cord & thanks to some gutsy play & Federer's unforced errors which were coming regularly, Youzhny raced to a 5-3 lead, how ever, Federer got the help of the net cord & it was 5-4.

Clearly, Federer's 13 unforced errors to 4 winners was the main reason that he lost the first set & looked pretty ordinary in the first set.

2nd set

The first 5 games went on service, Federer once again had break points in the 6th game on Youzhny's service, but couldn't convert.

But, in the 8th game, Federer got 3 break points & the Russian double faulted to hand over the game & a crucial lead of 5-3 to Federer. This was the first break of the match in the 86th minute. This was by far the poorest game that the Russian played in the match and this game shifted all the momentum in favor of the Swiss maestro. Federer then served out the set on his second set point to win the set 6-3 in 32 minutes.

Here are the 2nd set stats :::

Federer served much better in this set & controlled his unforced errors & kept encouraging himself with those loud Come on's.

Set-3

Federer was the clear favorite going in to the 3rd set as all the momentum had shifted in favor of the Swiss Maestro. Federer had the first opening in the 7th game as he got 3 break points on the Russian's service. Federer broke Youzhny's service to gain a vital 4-3 lead and that break proved to be sufficient as Federer served out the set & the match in the 10th game on his second set point.

Federer looked very flat in the first half of the match & kept making unforced errors both on the forehand & backhand side, but inspite of his that, his service kept him in the match. Federer served 12 aces in the match and clearly, the momentum of the match got shifted in the 8th game of the 2nd set.

This was Federer's 15th successive win over Mikhail Youzhny who played the best match out of all these 15 meeting & still lost the match

More Pics, video highlights, recording, interview quotes to follow in the following posts.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this website & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time premium member of this forum.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this site & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time member of RF Fans.

This was a nerve wracking match to watch, Roger was slow to get himself fired up, but thankfully he managed to reduce the unforced errors and improve his serve when it mattered to close out the match without added drama at the end.

A well deserved victory, which was all the sweeter on Father's Day, to have Charlene Riva and Myla Rose there to see him presented with the trophy!

Well done dad!!

To see more pictures of Mirka Federer & the twins taken at Halle, click here.

.... peRFection ~ it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice

Q: Are you really pleased Roger or was it such a big monkey on your back today?

FEDERER: No, I’m just happy. It was a great week for me and my family. I practiced hard after Paris once I came here. The weather was nice. So, I took advantage of that. After I played so well on grass the last years and last year as well with the final here and at the Olympics and winning Wimbledon, you are always going to feel more confident but at the same time you also feel the pressure. On the grass points are being played in a quick way, you don’t always control everything if the guy is serving big or if he just goes for it. So, I’m just very happy how I played this week and excited about what’s to come now. Because I feel confident, I feel fit and fresh and that’s very important at this point in the season.

Q: Did the win boost your confidence. Going into Wimbledon winning the title is obviously better than not?

FEDERER: Winning solves everything really. So, for me it’s great in terms of confidence. I feel like I know what I need to do. It’s good to fight as well the last couple of matches after two easy ones at the beginning. I had to come from losing the first set twice, then coming back to win is a great feeling. There’s still things I believe I can improve on but I think that will then happen when the moment is there when Wimbledon starts. But overall I’m very pleased with the way I played and I’m happy with the week.

Q: Is it less of an emergency when you are down a set against a guy you have won against fourteen times?

FEDERER: It depends. I played a few guys, who I had a very good record against, ten, twelve, thirteen zero and they all seem to get that win. All of a sudden I felt it’s going to be one of those moments as well for me. So, I really tried to put my head down and focus, point for point mentality, especially my serve. The last thing you want to go down a break in the second set and for him to start cruising playing with the lead. So, I was able to keep him at bay. I don’t believe it was all that great of an advantage to have that super record against him in the second set. I knew that the defeat was near and it was close because Mikhail was playing good enough to win today. No doubt about it.

Q: The Wimbledon seeding will come out in a few days. There’s a debate whether Nadal should be moved up. Any thoughts about that?

FEDERER: No. What do you want me to tell you? It’s the same debate before the French Open. At the end he was seeded four. I was like ‘why the big fuss.’ Ferrer played rock solid last 365 days. What are you going to say? Rafa hadn’t played that much. That’s how the rankings go. But in probably a month or so Rafa is going to be the top 2 or 3. So, he’s going to be patient right now. It clearly changes the draw with the dynamics of it but not more than that really. I mean the quarter final is not first round. It’s still far away in the draw if you think about it.

Q: So are you relieved or is it just nice that people will stop asking when you’re going to win a title?

FEDERER: I have to say that I wasn’t asked that much. Maybe this week they asked because I was the number one seed and everybody expected me to win as I did, too. I had actually been playing well. I should have won Basel which I lost 7:6 in the third, was in the final of Rome and of the World Championships, made the semis in Australia. I played on a high level. I’m not absolutely satisfied with the first six months. Maybe if I had changed my tournament schedule I would have won more titles but that wasn’t the goal. The goal was to play the big tournaments, take a break and then be in top form for this week here, Paris, Halle, Wimbledon and I’m happy things look great for next week.

Q: This is your 77th title. So you’re even with McEnroe. What does that mean to you?

FEDERER: A lot of course. I knew I was close. John McEnroe has done a lot for tennis also later as commentator. I used to watch his matches, the highlights against Björn Borg and later Boris Becker. So, it’s very special.

Q: How happy are you with today’s match? I had the feeling you did more mistakes than usual?

FEDERER: Youzhny really put me under pressure and forced me to make mistakes. He plays very hard and flat to the baseline. He served really well in the first one and a half sets which made it difficult for me. I got a bit reluctant and as soon as you hesitate you get more bad bounces. Either you try too hard or not enough, I didn’t find the right mix which was due to Youzhny. At the end, I played better.

Q: Does it feel better to have won a title you had to fight for than winning in straight sets?

FEDERER: I would say in this phase it is better not to have won in straight sets. Previously I either won or lost in straight sets. So, I’m very satisfied with the way I played and that I had to fight for title. It really means a lot to me. I had a great time and it’s absolutely great to finish the week with the victory.

Q: How is your tennis different from when you won back in 2003 and how has the tournament changed?

FEDERER: I think that I also played well back then. Usually I played good when I won here or made it to the final, also my match against Tommy last year. I always reach a certain level in a final. A lot has changed over the years at the tournament. It is even nicer, more perfect and even better organised which is normal because you learn from your mistakes. The event centre is amazing. I think it is even more professional than it was anyway.

Q: When the FC Bayern Munich won the Champions League Frank Ribery took the cup to bed. How are you going to celebrate?

FEDERER: No, the cup is already on its way to Basel, my dad is taking it home in the car. I remember that I once slept with the French Open Coupe de Mousquetaires on my bedside table. It was funny because security didn’t want to let me take it after I asked whether I could have it overnight. They had to ask the tournament which, in the end, allowed me to keep it for a night. But, no, it didn’t sleep in the same bed as I did.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this website & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time premium member of this forum.

Q: It was an interesting match. At the end it seemed that you could not read very well his serve. What’s your opinion?

YOUZHNY: It was a good match anyway. The second and third set were quite similar, just one break for Roger and I didn’t have a lot of chances. 15:30, then 30 all it looks close but when he serves well, it’s really tough. From my game it was different between the first set and the second and third set. I feel like I served better and I won more points on my serve without any rally. That’s why I was a little bit more fresh In the second and third serve I started to play more on the second serve because my percentage was a little bit down and it’s tough to play with Roger all the time for the point when do you don’t have any easy points from the serve.

Q: At the start you played more to his backhand and it worked and after that you played maybe less to this backhand. Am I wrong?

YOUZHNY: No, it’s not exactly like you saw. I didn’t change my game after the first set. When you’re fresh and when you have more points from the serve it’s easier. Every point from the rally is tough. Maybe it looks like you change the tactics but Roger didn’t actually give me a lot of chances to play and sometimes you play to the forehand not because you want to play to the forehand but because you don’t have any choice.

Q: You are close to thirty one years old and it seems to me that you’re improving in your game even after thirty. So, are you surprised?

YOUZHNY: No, I’m not surprise and I feel like I’m still improving in my game. I improved not like in 16, 17 or 18 and maybe not everybody can see how I improved and what I start to do better. You have to be inside the tennis to see the small things. But, yes, with my coach, with my team we still try to find a way to improve my game because tennis changes every year and if I want to still be at the top I need to change.

Q: Is it difficult to go to practice when you have to practice in the off-season?

YOUZHNY: Sometimes yes, sometimes it happens. Sometimes you’re happy to go and practice. And you’re happy when you do something and after you can see in the match how it changes. Actually I like even more if you do something in the practice and after you can see in the match the result of your work. It’s the most important thing for me.

Q: You had a pretty good serve at the start. Then there were a couple of games 0:40. Was that a focus thing in those games?

YOUZHNY: No, the first time he broke me in the second set it was a good serve. I missed one backhand and twice even after the first serve Roger played well. When it’s 0:30 it’s tough, once I saved but the second serve. But in the second and third set I didn’t serve so well. If I served like in the first set I won the match. It’s no guarantee for me but maybe it will be a little bit easy to play on my serve.

Q: You just said that tennis has been changing every year. Could you explain how things have been changing in the past ten years?

YOUZHNY: Now if you see tennis could be much faster. The rackets, strings and everything what is around tennis changes. If you see the top player like Nadal, Murray, Djokovic play now. This is totally different. I mean nothing against the players before. But now you see more players after 30 playing more and more. Maybe tennis is more professional. Before, just players travelled then after they travelled with the coach. Now, players are travelling with the whole team, with the physio, doctor, fitness coach. This helps a lot. This is why maybe more players start playing after 30 and have good results.

Q: It’s the first title for Roger in the last then months. So, some people were saying, he’s no longer that good. But you played him today and what do you feel? Is he as good as ever?

YOUZHNY: For me he is (laughs). I don’t like when somebody starts to talk about he’s not the same. What do you mean he’s not the same? He’s the same good. Yes, the level of other players is also very high. They improve the same. I think Roger is still the same. My opinion on Roger one years ago, two years ago, three years ago, it’s a different Roger but he’s not going down. It’s just that other players might be coming close to his level. Before, his level was really really high. Nobody could be close to him. Now, other players can be close. But I don’t think and I don’t feel he’s not the same.

Q: Roger went over and sat with you during the ceremony. What did you talk about?

YOUZHNY: Nothing special, just talking about what to do next, when are you going to London?

Q: During the second set I noticed you standing further back the baseline during Roger’s serve. I just wondered if something’s changing. Or did you just feel like you had to do that to compete with his serve that definitely got better in the second set?

YOUZHNY: No, I didn’t change anything special. Sometimes you feel you have to stay close, but if you miss one, two, three times, okay you can continue to stay in the same position and miss ten more times. But my opinion is to change tactic here and try to find the right position to try to return. It’s not a big change but you have to try and find the position during the match.

Q: You made the quarters last year in Wimbledon. So, do you think you’re ready to make the next step?

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this website & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time premium member of this forum.

To make this web-site better, please consider donating. All your donations go for the maintenance and making this website & forum better. You can make your donations here & become a life-time premium member of this forum.

I like the way Mikhail Youzhny answered the question which probed his thoughts on whether Roger's form was dropping.

Good answer ...

...... My opinion on Roger one years ago, two years ago, three years ago, it’s a different Roger but he’s not going down. It’s just that other players might be coming close to his level. Before, his level was really really high. Nobody could be close to him. Now, other players can be close .......

.... peRFection ~ it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice